The story is told by Humbert Humbert'- a frustrated pedophile who finally has an opportunity to act on his impulses with Lolita, his landlady's 12 year old daughter. The man is despicable and awful and sick. I cringed as I listened to some of the passages. But the writing was so beautiful and astonishingly rich, it made up for the terrible events described in the book.

I can't say enough good things about the way Jeremy Irons narrated this audiobook. In fact, I think the book would have been vastly less engaging for me if I had read it myself.Irons embodied the pedophile's character so convincingly, I'm not sure I will ever be able to watch him in another movie without thinking of Humbert Humbert.

I'd read Lolita on my own years ago but couldn't pass up the chance at hearing this as read by Jeremy Irons. It was worth it. From the infamous first line, Irons' rich velvety voice gliding over Nabokov's beautiful, stunning prose is a masterful combination.

Regardless of the exquisite language use by Nabokov, Lolita is a disturbing and tragic story. Not even the pleasantness of Irons' voice can disguise just how repulsive the narrator truly is. Yet, Nabokov writes Humbert Humbert with depth and even (a little) room for sympathy. Likewise, Irons captures this and gives HH a sense of humanity.

I love the way Nabokov toys with and manipulates the English language. It was so skillful and artistic! There were plenty of erotic passages and references but they were conveyed with poetic delicacy, no crass play-by-plays here. Also, I love the Humbert Humbert (great name!) character. He's such a caricature of opposing forces, I found him to be at different times comical, admirable, and pathetic. His early descriptions of his passions for Lolita were so tender and lovely, I began to worry about how much I was sympathizing with a pedophile. Then his passion devolves into obsession (or was it always?) and we begin to see his insanity and start to loathe him. No one will ever accuse this novel of one-dimensionality. Similarly, I had an initial perception of Lolita as an innocent victim. But as the story progressed, I was more disconcerted by her sexual maturity and disdain for adults. I even began to wonder if maybe nymphets really do exist. This should be an interesting book club discussion...

I cannot rave enough about Jeremy Irons' performance. It was sublimely perfect. I didn't realize until after I finished listening that Jeremy Irons also played Humbert Humbert in the '90s remake of the movie. So, it's no wonder that he seemed to have an uncanny insight into Humbert's character. His performance was delicately nuanced, deeply emotional, and completely compelling. I wouldn't necessarily say that Lolita is my favorite book of all time, but Jeremy Irons has delivered one of my favorite performances of all time. Exquisite!

Would you consider the audio edition of Lolita to be better than the print version?

I wonder if anyone but Jeremy Irons could have captured HH in the way he has -- not just the words, but the phrasing, the tempo, the breathing... an incredible reading of one of the most incredible writers of all time.

In my humble opinion, this is a true masterpiece. The imagery conjured up by the author in such an usual way is simply amazing. True, the content is uncomfortable at times, but the writing is so wonderful that you oftentimes forget the subject matter . The fact that this book is laugh out loud funny at times is astonishing for so many reasons. Lastly, I doubt that anyone could narrate this book better than Jeremy Irons.

I could not get into this book at all. I purchased Lolita because it was under the erotic section and got such great reviews. There is nothing erotic about a pedophile... it is disgusting, no thank you. I could not bear to listen any longer. I'm very disappointed in my purchase.

Lolita burns in your mind like Native Son, with a kindred repulsiveness. Lolita sears your conscience because it speaks like an apology for pedophilia. Jeremy Irons??? spoken interpretation of Lolita is breath taking. His voice captures the licentious nature of the main character, Humbert Humbert. He reads Nabokov???s lines with a beautiful alliteration that reveals the poetry in Nabokov???s prose. The subject is inherently repulsive. The rationalizations of a confessed pedophile, that admits his guilt, is difficult, if not impossible, to understand. So, what is the point of the book? The best face is that Nabokov reveals the depth of a pedophile???s sickness, some of its causes and consequences, and the utter futility of psychological examination; the worst face is that Nabokov justifies pedophilia based on human nature. For my own conscience, and for respect to a literary genius, I pick the first rather than the second reason for his decision to write this book.